Govt distributes $1.42b as hongbao among the poor

The ministries¹ of finance and civil affairs have distributed about 9.66 billion yuan ($1.42 billion) among the needy² to help them celebrate Spring Festival.

The unprecedented³ aid package, with one-off payments, will benefit more than 74 million people amid the financial crisis, a senior official has said.

By noon yesterday, money had been deposited in more than 50 million people's accounts, said Gao Huajun, in charge of the Ministry⁴ of Civil Affairs' minimum living allowance subsidy⁵ program.

The beneficiaries include 62.8 million people who get minimum living allowance, and 5.3 million people unemployed⁶ or people without relatives who get necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare and housing from local governments. About 6.4 million people getting the State subsidy are also among the beneficiaries.

According to the aid package, people getting minimum living allowances will get 100 yuan if they live in rural areas and 150 yuan if they reside in cities. The average monthly living allowance paid to the needy in 2007 was 182.4 yuan in urban and 70 yuan in rural areas.

The central government decided⁷ to hand out "lucky money" or hongbao to help the needy overcome their financial woes⁸ brought about by the global economic slowdown.

"Only by improving people's lives, especially for lower-income and poor families, can we build a solid base for the country's steady and swift economic development," Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs Jiang Li said on January 9.

Speaking during a national videoconference in Beijing to launch the aid package, Jiang called on governments at all levels to ensure accurate and transparent⁹ distribution of the subsidy before January 24, two days before Spring Festival.

Local authorities will have to report the daily progress of the distribution scheme to the ministry, he said.

A number of local governments have taken special measures to complement¹⁰ the ministries' efforts to help the needy.

Authorities in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, have raised the subsidy to 515 yuan per person in urban and 350 yuan in rural areas.

In Hubei province, about 93 percent of the 3.43 million eligible¹¹ people had reportedly got the money by Tuesday.

"We will inspect bank transfers to ensure the money is distributed properly," said Zhao Xianfu, director of the local civil affairs department's minimum living allowance subsidy center.

Hu Sanjian, a minimum living allowance recipient¹² in Wuhan, capital of Hubei, was surprised to find he had received a 300-yuan subsidy yesterday. The 54-year-old, who was laid off recently, was also given five bags of rice, edible¹³ oil and fish by the civil affairs department.

And he got an 800-yuan voucher¹⁴ from the city's federation¹⁵ of trade unions with which he can buy supplies at local department stores.

Hu plans to use the money to purchase food and supplies for a big family reunion dinner on the eve of Spring Festival. "It means a lot for me and my son," he said.

Questions:

1. How many people will benefit from the government’s hongbao handout¹⁶?

2. Why is the government handing out money to the poor?

3. What are some measures local governments are taking to make sure the money is distributed properly?

Answers:

1. 74 million people.

2. To help them deal with the financial crisis.

3. They have to report the daily progress of the distribution scheme to the government and bank transfers will be inspected.